Renting in Greece: the rules

The Civil Code does not require a written lease, but in practice every lease is written because it has to be declared to the tax authority (see below), and a written lease is needed for the fast eviction procedure. A residential lease is a misthosi katoikias (lease of a dwelling). The key protection is Law 1703/1987 art. 2.1, kept in force after 1997 by Law 2235/1994: a lease of a property for housing lasts at least three years, even if a shorter or open-ended term was agreed. The parties can shorten the three years only by a later agreement made at least six months after the lease was signed and proven by a notarial document. Law-firm guides read the rule as covering a main home (kyria katoikia), so that leases of a holiday or second home, or a lease the contract describes as for another use, fall outside it; the law itself speaks only of a lease for housing. The same article says that if the agreed term was shorter than three years and the contract has no rent-adjustment clause, the rent rises once a year by 75% of the consumer price index for the extended period. Rules as of 2026-10.

After the term (three years or the longer agreed term), the lease ends automatically without notice (Civil Code art. 608). If the tenant stays on and the landlord knows and does not object, it is treated as renewed for an indefinite period (art. 611), which either side can then end by notice (see Notice). If the property is sold, a buyer is bound by a lease proven by a document of certain date (art. 614); otherwise the buyer may end it with one month's notice (leases up to a year) or two months (longer leases) (art. 615).

Registration: the landlord must file a dilosi pliroforiakon stoicheion misthosis (lease information declaration) on myAADE (the AADE portal, formerly Taxisnet) by the end of the month after the lease starts, and the same for changes and termination; it is free (Mitos, the national register of procedures, as of 2026-10). The tenant's AFM (tax number) goes into the declaration, and the tenant gets a notice in their myAADE inbox and by email and has 30 days to accept or reject it; if they do nothing it counts as accepted (AADE decision A.1068/2025). Check that the declared rent and dates are right before accepting: the declaration is what the rent refund, the housing allowance and proof of address are based on.

There is no statutory cap on the eggyisi (deposit) for new residential leases as of 2026-10. The old rule limiting the deposit to two months' rent and advance rent to the current month (Law 1703/1987 art. 2.2) lapsed with the rest of that law on 30 June 1997; Law 2235/1994 kept only the three-year minimum in art. 2.1 alive. Some Greek guides still quote the two-month cap as if it were current. In practice, landlords and agents in the big cities usually ask for one or two months' deposit plus the first month's rent, and sometimes a Greek guarantor or more months up front from foreigners without Greek income; how much is a matter of negotiation.

The landlord holds the deposit; there is no public deposit scheme and no statutory deadline to return it. It is returned at the end of the lease after the flat has been handed back and bills and common charges are settled, minus documented damage beyond wear from normal use (Civil Code arts. 592, 599). A common clause forbids using the deposit as the last month's rent. Photos, a signed inventory and copies of the final utility and common-charge bills help in disputes. We found no government bill on deposits as of 2026-10.

Rent is set freely and there are no rent-control zones or reference rents in Greece as of 2026-10. Increases during the lease are whatever the contract says; many contracts tie the yearly increase to the consumer price index or a fixed percentage. Where the agreed term was shorter than three years and there is no adjustment clause, Law 1703/1987 art. 2.1 provides a yearly increase of 75% of the consumer price index for the extended period. A tenant cannot challenge a rent as too high; the main tools are reading the indexation clause before signing and making sure the declared rent matches what is paid.

Payment by bank: Law 5222/2025 art. 210 requires rent to be paid only into a bank account in the landlord's name declared to AADE. The start date has moved from 1 January 2026 to 1 April 2026, then 1 October 2026, and AADE decision A.1187/2026 (September 2026) pushed it to 1 July 2027. As reported in the tax press (TaxRevenue Times, September 2026), once it applies, landlords who take rent any other way lose the automatic 5% expense deduction, and tenants lose state support linked to that lease. Paying by bank transfer with the lease reference is already the clearest proof of payment.

Tenant support: the annual rent refund (epistrofi enoikiou, Law 5217/2025 art. 70) pays back one month's rent a year, at most €800 plus €50 per child, for a main home or a student's home, automatically from tax-return data, with no application. Law 5313/2026 raised the income limits to €25,000 for a single person and €35,000 for a couple plus 5,000 per child (asset limits apply to main homes). The payment for 2025 rents is due on 30 November 2026. The refund relies on the lease being declared to AADE and the rent entered in the tenant's tax return (E1). Teachers and health workers posted outside Attica and Thessaloniki can get up to two months a year under art. 70A. Separately, OPEKA's epidoma stegasis (housing allowance, Law 4472/2017) pays €70 a month for a single person, plus €35 per extra member, up to €210, for very low incomes (€7,000 a year for a single person) and only after five years' legal residence (12 for non-EU nationals), as of 2026-10.

Tenant: there is no statutory right for a residential tenant to leave early during the fixed term (the old 'change of mind' rule in Presidential Decree 34/1995 art. 43 applies to commercial leases and was switched off for new ones in 2014). A tenant who leaves early can be liable for the rent until the end of the term unless the contract has an early-exit clause (for example a notice period plus a penalty) or the landlord agrees. Read that clause before signing. Once the lease has become open-ended (after the term, art. 611), either side can end it: with monthly rent, by notice given at least 15 days before the end of a calendar month (Civil Code art. 609), unless the contract sets another period. If a tenant dies, the heirs can end the lease with three months' notice to the end of a month, and a surviving spouse or civil partner who lived there takes over the lease (art. 612).

Landlord: a fixed-term lease ends at the end of the term (minimum three years) without any reason being needed (art. 608). During the term, the landlord can end it for unpaid rent with one month's notice (leases agreed for a year or more) or ten days (shorter ones); the notice has no effect if the tenant pays the arrears plus costs before it runs out (art. 597), and any clause shortening these periods or ending the lease automatically on late payment is void (art. 598). The landlord can end the lease immediately if the tenant keeps misusing the flat or behaving badly towards other residents despite protests (art. 594). A tenant who stays after the lease ends owes the agreed rent as compensation (art. 601). Rules as of 2026-10.

Eviction: the fast route is the diatagi apodosis chrisis misthiou (order to hand back the property, Code of Civil Procedure arts. 637 ff.). For arrears, the landlord needs a written lease and must first serve a formal notice through a court bailiff; if the tenant pays within 15 days the order cannot be issued (the notice is needed only the first time). Since 1 January 2026 (Law 5221/2025), the same order can also be used when the lease has ended at the end of its term: the landlord must serve notice at least three months before expiry, and the order can be enforced only two months after it is served. The tenant can object (anakopi) in court. Only a bailiff with a court order can remove a tenant; changing the locks or cutting utilities is not a legal way to evict.

If the flat has a defect that partly or wholly prevents the agreed use when it is handed over, or one appears during the lease, or it lacks an agreed feature, the tenant has the right to reduce or stop paying rent (Civil Code art. 576); in practice, tenants should notify the landlord in writing first and get advice before withholding, because unpaid rent can lead to an eviction order. The tenant is not liable for wear caused by the agreed use (art. 592) and must return the flat in the condition received (art. 599). Contracts usually require the landlord's consent for any alteration.

Koinochrista (common charges) in an apartment block cover cleaning, the lift, lighting of common areas and, in many older Athens blocks, central heating oil. They are split between flats according to the building's regulation (kanonismos polykatoikias) or, without one, by each flat's share of the building (Law 3741/1929). Between landlord and tenant, the lease decides; the law sets no split, and by common practice (property-management guides, not the law) the tenant pays ordinary running costs (cleaning, lift, common electricity, water, heating) and the owner pays extraordinary costs (repairs and replacements, facade work, the reserve fund). Towards the building, the owner remains liable if the tenant does not pay. Ask for recent common-charge bills before signing: winter heating can be a large share of the monthly cost.

The tenant usually puts electricity, water, gas and internet in their own name. Agency fees are freely agreed (Law 4072/2012). In practice the commonly quoted charge for a residential let is one month's rent plus 24% VAT, often paid by the tenant and sometimes split or paid by the landlord (agency guides, not the law); the agent should work under a written assignment that names the agent and their GEMI (business register) number. Home insurance is not required by law.

Greece has no general address register like a padron or Anmeldung. The number that matters for renting is the AFM (arithmos forologikou mitroou, tax registration number): the landlord needs it to declare the lease, and you need it to accept the declaration, open a bank account, set up utilities and later receive the rent refund. It can be issued at a tax office (DOY) or remotely by video call through AADE's myAADElive service, which also gives you the kleidarithmos (password) for myAADE (AADE, as of 2026-10). Ask for the password at the same time: without myAADE access you cannot see or accept the lease declaration.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens staying more than three months must get a vevaiosi engrafis (registration certificate) from the police aliens department (in Attica and Thessaloniki) or the local police security department, under Presidential Decree 106/2007. It is free apart from a 0.50-euro stamp, does not expire, and requires proof of address such as a lease, utility bill or tax document, plus proof of resources and health insurance (Mitos, as of 2026-10). Non-EU residence permits also ask for an address, usually a declared lease. The AMKA (social security number) is needed for work and public healthcare. A lease declared to AADE in your own name is the simplest proof of address for all of these.

Unusually, the Greek Civil Code lets a tenant sublet or hand over use of the flat unless the contract says otherwise; the tenant remains liable to the landlord for the subtenant's fault, even if the landlord consented (art. 593). Most written leases do forbid subletting without the landlord's written consent, so check the contract. At the end of the lease, the landlord can claim the flat back directly from the subtenant (art. 599). There is no legal cap on what a sublettor may charge.

A sublease must be declared to AADE like any lease, by the sub-lessor (Mitos: declarations cover landlords and sub-lessors). Undeclared room lets are common in Athens and Thessaloniki; they leave the room tenant without proof of address, without the rent refund and with weak evidence in a dispute.

Subletting for short stays to tourists counts as short-term letting and needs its own registration number (see For landlords). In central Athens, no new short-term registrations are allowed until 31 December 2026, which covers sub-lessors too; a further year was announced in September 2026 but is not yet law.

Before letting: get a PEA (pistopoiitiko energeiakis apodosis, energy performance certificate) from a registered energy inspector. It is required for every new let to a new tenant (not a renewal with the same tenant), is valid for ten years, its number must be entered in the AADE lease declaration (Law 4342/2015 art. 58), and fines of 1,000 to €10,000 under Law 4122/2013 are reported for failing to issue one (Taxheaven; as of 2026-10). Then declare the lease on myAADE by the end of the following month, and from 1 July 2027 collect rent only into a bank account declared to AADE (Law 5222/2025 art. 210, as postponed).

Tax: rental income of individuals is taxed separately from other income, after an automatic 5% deduction for repairs and maintenance. For income earned from 1 January 2026, Law 5246/2025 art. 8 (amending Income Tax Code art. 40.4) sets the scale at 15% up to €12,000 a year, 25% from €12,000 to €24,000, 35% from €24,000 to €36,000 and 45% above (the new 25% band replaced a jump from 15% straight to 35%). Incentive for empty homes: income from a long-term lease of a home of up to 120 m2 (plus 20 m2 per child) that was declared empty for three years, or was previously used for short-term letting, is tax-free for 36 months, if the lease runs at least three years and is signed between 8 September 2024 and 31 December 2026 (Law 5162/2024 art. 9, extended; whether it is extended again was undecided as of 2026-10). Landlords also pay ENFIA (property tax).

Short-term letting (under 60 days per stay, without hotel-type services): the property needs an AMA (arithmos mitroou akinitou, registration number) in AADE's short-term rental register, shown on every listing; guests must be declared and a nightly climate resilience fee charged. Individuals letting three or more properties short-term are treated as a business, with 13% VAT (Law 5073/2023, AADE guide). Since 1 October 2025, Law 5170/2025 sets minimum standards: main-use rooms only (no basements), natural light and ventilation, air conditioning, liability insurance, smoke detectors, fire extinguisher, residual-current switch, first-aid kit; fines start at €5,000 and double for repeats. First-time registrations are banned in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd municipal districts of Athens from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026 (Law 4446/2016 art. 111.2A, decision of 12 December 2025), with fines of at least €20,000. In September 2026 the government announced that the ban would continue through 2027; that was not yet law as of 2026-10. A building regulation that limits flats to residential use can also block short-term letting: a July 2026 news report says the Athens First Instance Court ordered a stop to one (decision 2937/2026, Greek City Times); it is a single first-instance ruling, not settled law.

Lease disputes go to the civil courts. Since 16 September 2024 the magistrates' courts (eirinodikeia) have been merged into the single-judge first-instance courts (protodikeia), with former magistrates' courts kept as local branches (Law 5108/2024). Evictions use the order procedure described under Notice. A lawyer is usually needed in court. There is no rent tribunal or deposit-dispute board.

PA.SY.P.E. (Panhellenic Association for the Protection of Tenants, founded 1977) gives members legal advice from lawyers on leases and evictions, from an office in central Athens. Newer grassroots groups such as the Athens Tenants' Base Union (SVEA) organise collectively and support tenants facing evictions. The Synigoros tou Katanaloti (Consumer Ombudsman) mediates free of charge between consumers and businesses operating in Greece, such as an estate agency, but not disputes with a private landlord. The Synigoros tou Politi (Greek Ombudsman) handles complaints against public bodies, for example over a housing allowance. KEP (citizen service centres) help with public forms and applications. Landlords have their own federation, POMIDA.

We can never guarantee that an agency, listing or landlord is legitimate. Never pay a deposit before seeing the flat and checking that the person is the owner or authorised to let it, insist that the lease is declared to AADE, and see our scam guide.